Can Hogwarts Make a Mistake?

Chapter 12

I've decided to give up. Sure, I'll tutor James, but I'll stop plotting to slip a love potion in his morning pumpkin juice. I'm only eleven! I have all the time in the world to get with anyone. I'll just focus on my schoolwork, I guess.

I've had my first tutoring session with Rose on spellwork. She ended the session abruptly when she got too frustrated. I had no idea what was going on! I doubt she's going to be the best teacher. Maybe I need someone else to help me out. A gentler, nicer, slightly smarter and wiser person... I'll think of it.

Anyways, Cosette Goyle has been worse than usual. She disgusts me. Her gross, curly black hair she whips everywhere, her creepy infatuation with Scorpius, and her plain evil intentions towards everything... Ugh! She's just vile! If she had her way, I'd be dead and she'd be making out with Scorpius 24/7.

 One day, we were in Defense Against the Dark Arts and Professor Thomas had paired us together. Sighing, I turned to Cosette. She had this evil smirk on her face, like she had slipped me an Instant Painful Death Draught.

"Well," I said, "Shall we begin?"

"Yes, we shall," she whispered, the vile smirk growing ever larger and more sinister by the minute.

The assignment was to practice the spell Wingardium Leviosain an offensive manner. As if we'd ever need to lift a giant stick or something to plop on a mountain troll's head. In our first year. I'm not kidding; that's the scenario Professor Thomas gave us. Anyways, we had to levitate a quill and drop it, with the spell Finite or Finite Incantatem, in close proximity to our partner. Luckily for me, I didn't think Cosette was much of a spell whiz. However, neither was I.

Pairs of partners began waving away at the quills. Of course, Rose levitated hers on the first try and plopped it right on Evanna's shoulder.

Cosette volunteered to attempt first. I, reluctantly, agreed. The quill in question was still in the ink bottle and we had to levitate it out and near out partner. Raising her wand and focusing it on the quill, she swished and flicked.

"Wingardium Leviosa!"

Her eyes narrowed in complete concentration on the quill in the ink bottle. It was almost scary, how completely focused she was. I couldn't see because the quill in the ink was behind me, but I assumed that it had worked. Unable to sufficiently hide her smug look, she just beamed and said, "I'm doing it!"

"Good job, Cosette," I forced myself to say. She threw me a look that only I could recognize as the I am about to ruin your life look. Her eyes fixed on the rising quill that I could not see, and I thought she levitated a giant stick to plop on my head, to finish with the line, "Oops, I thought you were a mountain troll..."

Just as her eyes met the spot just above my head, I cringed. What was coming? Why was I scared of a quill falling on my head? It's just a quill. Don't freak out. I kept reassuring myself that it was nothing, that the evil grin I believed to be perpetually stained on her disgusting excuse for a face was a figment of my imagination. Just as I began thinking that she might not be so bad, I felt a hard smack on the top of my head, heard glass shattering, and felt ink running down my head and streaming down my face, neck, and back.

The whole class heard the shattering glass, gasped, and simultaneously turned their heads towards the source: me.

Professor Thomas turned from helping a student with his swishing and flicking and looked at the mess Cosette had created.

"Oh, Hermione. Go clean up in the lavatories," he said, sounding tired.

I didn't even bother arguing and condemning Cosette to detention. I just turned out of the classroom and headed to the nearest loo. Just as I was losing sight of the room, I caught a glimpse of Cosette's smirk. In the bathroom, I decided that I needed to tell Professor Thomas, but maybe after class so as not to make a scene. It seemed like the mature thing to do.

Although I have no idea why, there in the loo, washing out the ink from my stringy brownish reddish hair, I thought to ask Professor Longbottom to tutor me, maybe on the weekends or after classes. I needed to improve my spellwork, and the brilliance of my idea so overcame me that I ignored the remaining ink and the bell and I strode over to the common room to begin practice.